Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
A Prayer to God, the Lawgiver
Aleph
1 Blessed those whose way is blameless,
who walk by the law of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with all their heart.(B)
3 They do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have given them the command
to observe your precepts with care.
5 May my ways be firm
in the observance of your statutes!
6 Then I will not be ashamed
to ponder all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with sincere heart
as I study your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not leave me all alone.
Beth
9 How can the young keep his way without fault?
Only by observing your words.
10 With all my heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 In my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.(C)
13 With my lips I recite
all the judgments you have spoken.
14 I find joy in the way of your testimonies
more than in all riches.
15 I will ponder your precepts
and consider your paths.
16 In your statutes I take delight;
I will never forget your word.
Gimel
17 Be kind to your servant that I may live,
that I may keep your word.
18 Open my eyes to see clearly
the wonders of your law.
19 I am a sojourner in the land;[b](D)
do not hide your commandments from me.
20 At all times my soul is stirred
with longing for your judgments.
21 With a curse you rebuke the proud
who stray from your commandments.
22 Free me from disgrace and contempt,
for I keep your testimonies.
23 Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Psalm 12[a]
Prayer Against Evil Tongues
1 For the leader; “upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
I
2 Help, Lord, for no one loyal remains;
the faithful have vanished from the children of men.(A)
3 They tell lies to one another,
speak with deceiving lips and a double heart.(B)
II
4 May the Lord cut off all deceiving lips,
and every boastful tongue,
5 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail;
when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?”(C)
III
6 “Because they rob the weak, and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will grant safety to whoever longs for it.”(D)
IV
7 The promises of the Lord are sure,
silver refined in a crucible,[b]
silver purified seven times.(E)
8 You, O Lord, protect us always;
preserve us from this generation.
9 On every side the wicked roam;
the shameless are extolled by the children of men.
Psalm 13[c]
Prayer for Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me?
How long will you hide your face from me?(F)
3 How long must I carry sorrow in my soul,
grief in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
II
4 Look upon me, answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death,
5 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,”
lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.(G)
III
6 But I trust in your mercy.
Grant my heart joy in your salvation,
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me!(H)
Psalm 14[d]
A Lament over Widespread Corruption
1 For the leader. Of David.
I
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt;
not one does what is good.(I)
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the children of men,(J)
To see if even one is wise,
if even one seeks God.(K)
3 All have gone astray;
all alike are perverse.
Not one does what is good,
not even one.(L)
II
4 Will these evildoers never learn?
They devour my people as they devour bread;(M)
they do not call upon the Lord.(N)
5 They have good reason, then, to fear;
God is with the company of the just.
6 They would crush the hopes of the poor,
but the poor have the Lord as their refuge.
III
Chapter 6
Job’s First Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
Chapter 7
1 (A)Is not life on earth a drudgery,[a]
its days like those of a hireling?
2 Like a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for wages,
3 So I have been assigned months of futility,
and troubled nights have been counted off for me.
4 When I lie down I say, “When shall I arise?”
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and scabs;(B)
my skin cracks and festers;
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember that my life is like the wind;(C)
my eye will not see happiness again.
8 The eye that now sees me shall no more behold me;
when your eye is on me, I shall be gone.
9 As a cloud dissolves and vanishes,(D)
so whoever goes down to Sheol shall not come up.
10 They shall not return home again;
their place shall know them no more.
11 My own utterance I will not restrain;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 [b]Am I the Sea, or the dragon,
that you place a watch over me?[c]
13 When I say, “My bed shall comfort me,
my couch shall ease my complaint,”
14 Then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 So that I should prefer strangulation
and death rather than my existence.[d]
16 I waste away: I will not live forever;(E)
let me alone, for my days are but a breath.
17 [e]What are human beings, that you make much of them,
or pay them any heed?
18 You observe them every morning(F)
and try them at every moment!
19 How long before you look away from me,
and let me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you,
O watcher of mortals?
Why have you made me your target?
Why should I be a burden for you?
21 Why do you not pardon my offense,
or take away my guilt?
For soon I shall lie down in the dust;
and should you seek me I shall be gone.
IV. The Inauguration of the Gentile Mission
Chapter 10
The Vision of Cornelius.(A) 1 [a]Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Cohort called the Italica,[b] 2 devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously[c] to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock,[d] he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 He looked intently at him and, seized with fear, said, “What is it, sir?” He said to him, “Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with another Simon, a tanner, who has a house by the sea.”(B) 7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier[e] from his staff, 8 explained everything to them, and sent them to Joppa.
The Vision of Peter. 9 [f]The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime.[g] 10 He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. 11 (C)He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky. 13 A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.”(D) 15 The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.”(E) 16 This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky.
Chapter 7
The Feast of Tabernacles. 1 [a]After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him.(A) 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.(B) 3 So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world.”(C) 5 For his brothers did not believe in him. 6 [c]So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but the time is always right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify to it that its works are evil.(D) 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up[d] to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed on in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, “He is a good man,” [while] others said, “No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd.” 13 Still, no one spoke openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.(E)
The First Dialogue.[e]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.